Big city mayors seek affordable housing help from federal parties

Canadian mayors are pushing the federal parties to make affordable housing an important election issue before Oct. 19.

That's because they say it relates to the most critical topic of the campaign: the economy and jobs. 

"Canadian cities are facing an affordable housing crisis," said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, adding the issue is "holding back" families and the economy from moving forward. 

• Why has Canada fallen behind on public transit
• Canada's underfunded cities beg government to fix crisis

"In big, expensive cities, it is becoming increasingly difficult and often impossible for lower-income, working people to find a place to live that's affordable," Toronto Mayor John Tory said. 

The two leaders spoke a news conference Thursday morning in Toronto. The big city mayors representing Edmonton, Halifax, Vancouver, Kitchener and London stood united in their plea for help to address an issue that is not just a social issue, but also an economic one, they say. 

It should be noted and no surprise that in the two cities most expensive to buy a house in Canada, Toronto and Vancouver, the mayors of those cities are leading the charge in voicing their concerns. 

"The double whammy is no affordable housing within any reasonable distance of their work and no transit to take them to work from a place they can afford to live," Tory said, urging federal leaders to take a "hard look at housing policy" after revealing a "relative lack of attention to this issue" during the election campaign.

This will become a competitive disadvantage for job creation if it's allowed to continue in Canadian cities, Toronto's mayor noted. 

"Businesses are figuring out that this is not sustainable … for the maintenance and creation and attraction of jobs to our cities, which are the engine of growth in this country," Tory pressed.

Social housing assistance

The goal for the big city mayors is simple: make affordable housing an election issue so it is addressed. 

"We have to see clear focus and specific commitments …  if they're going to take the Canadian economy seriously moving forward," Robertson said. 

How else can the federal government assist cities? 

"We have to ensure that housing built in the past is maintained and repaired," Robertson told reporters.

Tory said In Toronto, "we have a huge bill for the repair of social housing that's in existence today and we need some federal help with that."

Tory also suggested some of the surplus federal lands can be used for government housing.

"There's no reason not to," he added.